Sweet Baby Pictures Require Invisible Mothers

Victorian photographic portraiture required the sitters to keep still for an exposure of about 30 seconds.  Technical problems arising from squirmy babies and toddlers were addressed by selfless mothers who solved the problem with the typical pre-feminist solution….invisibility.

 These images reminded us of Patty Carroll's recent project, Anonymous Women, which addresses power, identity and decoration. 

Dialogues with Michelangelo: Latitude

Barb has begun making drum scans at Latitude, choosing papers and researching bindings for Dialogues with Michelangelo -- the book. We were delighted to hear that our Filter Photography Festival friend, James Pepper Kelly, has been engaged as Executive Director.

LATITUDE, A NOT-FOR-PROFIT OPEN DIGITAL LAB.

LATITUDE provides advanced digital media equipment and a professional production space for established and emerging artists. The workflow and space was backed and built by Black Point Editions, a master print lab that has pushed the boundaries of pigment printing and digital workflow since 2004. LATITUDE supports continual work with Blackpoint’s roster of artists at the same level of custom printing so beloved by the art community in the past while also supporting a much wider swath of artists through full DIY printing, scanning, a wide format service bureau, classes, critiques, group meetings, portfolio reviews, and so much more. We are building a long-term home for the photo community in Chicago.

Inspiration: Sarah Lucas

Currently the Saatchi Gallery is exhibiting a range of work by photographer, installation and performance artist, Sarah Lucas (b. l962). Her work is not just clever, also confrontational, scary and hilarious work about sexual stereotyping.  She is "using a base language given critical viability by an affinity to previous movements such as Situationism and Surrealism" which also recalls the morbidity and provocative nature of Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst.  To us, it is  an old school #classic.

Ellen Wallenstein: Respectful of our Elders

As we work on Natural History, a sentiment which caught our attention was Ellen Wallenstein's title of her book of portraits:  Respecting My Elders. She was interviewed by book, exhibition and web designer, Elizabeth Avedon. Wallenstein's description of her working process with her honored subjects is fascinating, uplifting and bittersweet. She also shared her production and distribution challenges. We too admire many of her elders.

Resource: Maria Buszek

We were fortunate to meet Maria Buszek a few years ago at the Women's Caucus for Art conference in Chicago. We noticed she has moved to the University of Colorado-Denver to teach the history of art. Her extensive feminist bibliography is a great resource.

The Art of Noise: Art and popular music since 1977

Interview: Victor Cassidy

Chicago art critic, Victor Cassidy came by to interview us for his upcoming book on artist's collaborating. We had an extensive discussion and look forward to his essay.  Thanks for thinking of collaboration Victor!

Sculptors at Work

Henry Chandler Cowles

Collaboration: Otto Kaan

Photographers' duo Otto Kaan turned practical problems of lack of studio space into an aesthetic solution presented in four new projects in the exhibition Works. Otto Kaan consists of Berend Otto (1985) and Guus Kaandorp (1986).

Dialogues with Michelangelo: Research Sibyls and Prophets

The Prophets: 

The Colleageville Bible Commentary ISBN Q 8146 2210

Roman Catholic Cannon,  Liturgical Press

Women's Bible Commentary, Newsom and Ringe

The Sibyls:

Sibyls and Seers: A survey of Some Ancient Theories of Revelation and Inspiration, Edwyn Bevan

Mysteries of the Oracles: The Last Secrets of Antiquity, Philipp Vandenberg

The Seer in Ancient Greece, Michael Flower

the poems of Anne Carson

The Archive - Afterhours Magazine

Taos, from the series, Age of the Domiciles

Patricia McMillen is an Illinois writer, musician, and community activist. Her poems, essays and creative nonfiction have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. " 

We met Patricia during a Ragdale Foundation Residency a few years ago.  She will be publishing her poem,  "Square One" in After Hours, a Journal of Chicago Writing and Art  Issue 26, Winter 2013.

her work was inspired by our 1987 photograph from our Age of the Domiciles series.

Stella Group at Filter Photography Festival

Many of our Stella Critique Group colleagues experienced reviews at Filter Fest 2013

Alice Hargrave presents to Fred Bidwell

Aline Smithson reviews the prints of Jean Sousa

Mary Farmilant presents her book to Elizabeth Avedon

Aimee Beaubien shows new collages to Karsten Lund

Creative Capital Workshop - Life Changer

Barb Attended the Professional Development in November 2013

China Bound

Fifteen portraits from Natural History (and Barbara) will be heading to the Lishui Photo Festival in  Zhejiang Province, China from November 4-10, 2013. Curated by Yan Li of High Noon Culture and Art Corp. and Blue Mitchell, the show "Unconventional Photography" includes works by these outstanding unconventional photographers:
Jim Leisy "American Scientist"
S. Gayle Stevens  "Allegory"
Clay Lipsky  "Exposed"
Fritz Leidtke "Astra Velum"
Heidi Kirkpatrick "Lost and Found"
Ryan Zoghlin "Aerotones"
Bill Vaccaro "The Things She Left Behind"
Kim Kauffman "Confluence"
Jennifer B. Husdson "Medic"
Susan Kae Grant  "Theatrical Realms of the Whimsical and Tragic"
It ought to be an adventure traveling with these visionaries.
 

Changing Chicago - Then and Now

We were honored to be called upon to participate with Marc Pokempner and Jan Tichy in the Changing Chicago Panel Discussion, moderated by art historian and raconteur, Peter Bacon Hales. Time marches on....

Installation - Changing Chicago

Changing Chicago Photographers 2012

Changing Chicago Photographers 1989